Although computer systems do not detect any difference between a virtual and a physical CD burner, there are a few advantages to using the virtual CD burner rather than its physical counterpart:
| • | The virtual CD burner is available to all programs on all computers on which the Virtual CD program is installed. This means you can burn virtual media on a computer that is not equipped with a physical CD burner, and then burn the result onto a physical medium when a physical burner is available. |
| • | You can use the virtual CD burner to compose CDs (such as audio CDs, photo albums, videos, etc.) and test the results. This way, the 1-to-1 copy is created only when you decide that the composition is correct. |
| • | With the virtual CD burner, even programs that can only burn CDs directly can now produce test versions without using up blank physical CDs. |
| • | The virtual CD burner can write encrypted data on a blank virtual CD, so that the data cannot be accessed on the virtual CD without the password. Thus the data is protected as long as it is stored on the virtual CD. When it is copied to a physical CD, however, the encryption has to be undone; otherwise the physical medium cannot be used. On the other hand, if you burn it on a Smart Virtual CD, it can retain the encryption. |
| • | Any program that has a CD-burning function can use a virtual burner to write an image, without having to first create a physical CD. |
The physical burner creates the final version of the medium, and thus is required on only one the device; e.g., your notebook at home, on which the medium will be burned.
One of the top priorities in developing the virtual CD burner was to ensure a high degree of compatibility with as many programs as possible. Although we have conducted extensive testing to this end, we cannot guarantee that all programs can use the virtual burner to make CDs. This applies in particular with regard to highly specialized CD writing programs, since it is not possible for the virtual CD burner to reproduce all existing commands that a physical burner can use when writing data. If you have a problem with the virtual burner, please submit a request for support and let us know what program you are using and what actions you have taken, so we can try to reproduce—and then eliminate—the problem.
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In some cases, you can use the file system to copy certain data into a particular directory and then burn the directory. It is important to keep in mind, however, that a directory does not have the same capabilities as a CD or DVD, particularly with regard to autorun features, write-protection, file structures, and so on. A virtual CD, by contrast, can be burned onto a physical medium and will run like any CD. |
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Do not use the virtual CD burner to create a 1:1 copy of a physical medium. Although it is possible, the result is still a virtual CD. We strongly recommend using the Image Wizard to create a virtual copy of a physical CD. The Image Wizard is specifically designed for making virtual CDs from physical media, and has a large number of configuration options that make it far more efficient for this purpose than the virtual CD burner. |
